You should be putting all that stuff on the Then & Now page! Come to think of it, maybe we should also start a page for everyone who lent Terry a fiver to buy Capt Morgan - Pam would need a bigger website!!! (just joking!) 

Hello Steve, those days of drinking rum are well over cant stand the smell of the stuff. You have a good memory I dont remember meeting you in Catterick, how long did you serve and what did you do in civvy street besides being a brain surgeon. I am still in touch with Martin via email can give you his email add if toy want. Take care good to here from you, Terry

The last couple of years have been pretty tough for everyone, I think - we've all had our challenges. And that's why I was delighted to discover the great news today that my superannuation scheme will cover Linh and Sunny if I die before them (I've just never checked before, but the VN gov't wants our full financial circumstances as they assess our application for 'expat adoption', so I checked with the super scheme and now it's all confirmed!). I had always thought it might be the case with Linh because I remember being invited to name a beneficiary. But Sunny was an unexpected surprise - she'll qualify for 'dependent child' allowance (nearly 80% of full pension) after she's lived with us for five years, regardless of whether the adoption process goes ahead or not.
We're just passing the four years mark now, so I've only gotta stay alive one more year and she'll be covered until she's 18 (or 25 if studying full time) as long as we can prove she's been living with us for at least five years - which is easy in Vietnam because every household has a 'family book' listing the occupants with dates in, dates out, etc signed by the local People's Committee (they love to know where everyone is from one day to the next - and in this particular case it will be very useful!).
I've gotta say I've had unexpectedly good news before, but today's confirmation that Linh and Sunny will be looked after if (when?) I go before them just absolutely takes first place in my book - YEEEHAAAAA! 

I enjoyed it also Pam although our street/crescent on the Saturday was a disappointment as the weather turned wet and cold, otherwise enjoyed the whole thing, Paddington Bear and the Queen was very amusing now we know what she keeps in her handbag.

OK, that's great - welcome to the new, all singing all dancing(!) Message Board courtesy of the "reconstruction superintendent and general all-round cyberspace mastermind", Lee Burgess! Let's hope we begin to see a few more of the former regulars taking up this opportunity for occasional chat. Yes, got your message about the yellow ribbon - I just wanted to check to make sure I wasn't missing out on something by being so far away these days! Yeah, bad luck for LFC - but that's football, I suppose! To be honest, I don't see much football these days, although the Vietnamese are crazy wild supporters of their national team, which just beat all-comers in the 31st Southeast Asia (SEA) Games - anyone going out to the streets that night would have been risking their lives because hundreds of thousands of people were celebrating by riding their motorbikes at crazy speeds on roads and pavements. Risky outside, but it looked great on TV!!!
Btw, if you scroll further down the list of General Discussion topics you'll see the earlier message I left for you - and a comment for you from Terry Windsor...